Rust Seas Rampage
Rust Seas Region(#6400Rnt) - Cybertron Faint rust particles drift on the breeze in this windy region. The Rust Seas dominate most of it, nudging Nova Cronum and the proud Tyger Pax off towards the east. The Exurium Throne volcano leers across the otherwise flat skyline. Contents: Torque Blast Off Obvious exits: North leads to Rodo Shiza Highway. East leads to Mitteous Plateau. South leads to Sagros Plains. West leads to Exurium Throne. The Rust Seas Nova Cronum Tyger Pax Airlift has arrived. The video feed that had come in from Gamma squad had been frantic, Gravelpit yelling into the screen for help. Something about an 'insane monster' having broken the line. If it hadn't been for the video feed, it might have been a mystery what had happened as a purple-energied scythe blade had sliced cleanly through the Autobot at the controls. The shadowy, winged form was easily identified by the four arms..and the sweep-esque goatee. A plasma cannon had raised towards the screen and he'd simply blasted it to pieces to end the transmission before resuming the carnage. By the time reinforcements from any side can arrive, squad Gamma is in ruins and disarray. Autobots lie scattered about the trench position that they had been attempting to hold like ragdolls, tossed aside and eviscerated. Poor Bombsweeper has had his arms and legs ripped out, one arm nowhere to be found at first until the crumpled remains of it can be seen sticking from the chest of Longmile, who is laying half hanging into the trench. An explosion draws attention to the action and away from the scene of devastation though. Near one end of the trenches, close to an ammo supply, Airlift continues to battle on against three remaining Autobot's. He's not even using his primary weapon, instead having switched over to his scythe almost exclusively, stalking the three like some glistening black angel of death. He charges in once more, swinging past and evidently missing Blazerider who looks relieved, until that scythe is pulled back towards the Unicronian, severing the Autobot's head from his body as an evil laugh comes echoing from the trenches. Blast Off comes flying in to see just what exactly this medic was planning on doing after ignoring the Combaticon earlier in medbay and storming off in a huff. He seemed... possibly a little unbalanced as he left- and the CO of Aerospace can't have that. Not now. There is too much at stake right now, what with Nova Cronum and Trypticon. Plus, the Combaticon is still torn between being miffed at Airlift for hitting on Scorn earlier (though he still couldn't tell you exactly WHY that would even matter to him)- and having to be grateful that the medic saved his life when Trypticon went AWOL. He'd rather be MIFFED, and secretly is hoping to find a reason to remain that way. So he flies in now, not letting the other know he is there- until he arrives on the scene- and takes it in. Transforming to root mode, he hovers over the scene of carnage with a slight look of distaste. Not because he feels sorry for the Autobots, of course... but because it's messy and a bit.. disturbed, and reminds him of Vortex when he goes off on one of his ...*uncivilized* sprees. Crossing his arms, he says coldly, "Feeling better now, are we? Now that we've made a mess? THIS is what you left repair bay to do?" Like some wayward meteor, a blue Grumman X-29 streaks across the desert, followed by his characteristic trail of fire. Its "Heroic" Autobot Dogfight! Blast Off isn't the only miffed one today: Dogfight was going to ask Torque about that spar they were going to have, round up a few other Autobots, make it an event. And now a report's come in from a fleeing detachment about a... Monster. Dogfight can't stand that: The only horrible monster here is him, to Seekers, and the irony of the situation is not lost on him at all. The Triggerbot presses onwards, only offering a single radio message. <> With a transmission as troubling as the one they just received, it's no wonder the Autobots have deployed so quickly to the area. An engine revving hard can be heard in the distance amongst the dunes before a towtruck is spotted vaulting over them, wasting no time. <> She radios in to her eye in the sky before stopping atop a dune to survey the gruesome scene below. <<...Nevermind, I see it. Primus, this is awful..>> It only takes her a second to notice movement in the trenches, spotting really alien looking mech tearing through the remaining forces while Blast Off watches. Nope, she's not going to stand for that! With a blare of her horn to get their attention, Torque shifts and stands tall, speckled with rust particles and glaring hotly down at the two. "You shouldn't have come here, Cons! Now you're gonna regret it!" Saying that, the femme begins to slide down the large dune into the area and is already breaking into a sprint towards them. <> Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Guarded. Whatever has the Reaver upset, he barely turns to glare at Blast Off for half a second before continuing his gruesome rampage. Treads gets the attention of the savage unicronian next as Airlift batters past the hopeless attempts to defend, and shreds open the Autobot's torso with four sets of claws, yanking out vital components with a medics knowledge of what will cause the most damage. "It's just what the doctor ordered Blast Off.." he calls back then, before he picks up more Autobot's incoming. Not hard to do when they're laying on the horn.. "Good..I'd just about run out.." He turns as though to walk away, and for just a moment Highrise drops his guard..and in that moment he pays the price as Airlift's arm swivels back and blasts a plasma shot right through the Autobot's lower torso. He doesn't turn to watch the hapless mech fall, instead vaulting up onto the edge of the trenches. "Ahhh excellent.." he says as he stands there smirking, "Next patient..the doctor will see you now.." he growls out, tone angry for some reason. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Aggressive. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Airlift has 'skipped' his action for this round. Blast Off 's scanners pick up some incoming signals. Hmmm... Autobots. Not surprising. ...Oh. Great. One of them is...Dogfight. *Lovely*, just *lovely*. Looks like the 'Bot's personal underwater tour of the bottom of the Rust Seas didn't last as long as the Combaticon would've hoped. And the other is... Torque? Blast Off blinks. He hasn't seen her in awhile. He also hasn't forgotten that nice paint job she gave him once- it's a looong story, Ok? But it doesn't look like she's in the mood for such *civilized* activities right now, and he can't blame her, he supposes. He gets out his blaster, ready to go... though he doesn't fire yet. "Why, hello, Torque. Long time no see." He looks around, and states calmly, "I don't see a sign saying this place belongs to Autobots." Look, he's even polite enough to say "Autobots" to her- for now. Odds are that will probably change soon. Airlift's brutality gets a lifted optic ridge, but little other reaction. The sniper is cold, though not really sadistic. As a teammate to Vortex, he's used to simply watching the interrogator go to work... but participating himself would just be... messy and uncouth. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Guarded. Wraith has arrived. Grumman X-29 continues barreling down from the sky towards the Decepticons, quickly observing them and that one Combaticon who seems to have become his rival. While he would honestly love -nothing- more right now than to making Blast Off's life a continued, burning mess, there's the more immediate target at hand actively attacking Autobots. Dogfight does not know enough about this 'Reaver' to know its potential or what it can do, but he knows one thing for sure: If it burns, you can kill it. Time to test if it burns. The Grumman's wings flip forward and the usually rear facing blasters unleash a torrent of lasers upon Airlift, as Dogfight radios down to Torque. <> Combat: Grumman X-29 strikes Airlift with his Triggerbot Gimmick! (Laser) attack! -1 Damn right she isn't in the mood for anything civilized right now! Torque is quite thoroughly pissed and she's not about to let Airlift get away with what he just did without a serious aft-kicking. Unfortunately for Blast Off this applies to him as well, Torque not about to spare him despite their last pleasantries. "Yeah? And I don't see anything about it belonging to Decepticons either!" While Dogfight unleashes laserfire from above, Torque aims to wreak havoc below. Closing the distance between them, she pulls a wrench from subspace. A rather large one that she's suddenly wielding like a bat and swinging wide at the pair when she gets in close. Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Torque misses Blast Off with her Batter Up (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Torque strikes Airlift with her Batter Up (Ruckus) Area attack! Well, it seems Torque and Dogfight were not the only ones to find reason to respond to some crazed imagery and interesting propaganda... No, there's another set of optics on-site, though the owner is not doing as the other pair are by simply speeding there and making haste to turn into targets. Cowl pulled low, this particular mech is taking the slow, unassuming road... and from the wrong side of town, no less. Wraith glances at the trenches before dropping down to pick through the chaos and carnage left in the Decepticons' wakes, pausing momentarily as part of his processors want to help... but... Win the fight, first and foremost. He steps over remains of dead, dying, and wounded as the calloused demeanor that's caused so much dread for some of the Decepticons he's faced sets in, thin arcs of electricity already dancing across his chassis as he melts into the shadows. Let Dogfight and Torque get things started... << Torque, Dogfight, mind your fire, you have support here. >> He pauses, admiring Torque's haymaker of a swing... << Good form there, Torque. >> ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) The form of the reaver is peppered with laserfire before the medic launches her attack, coming in close to deliver a ringing blow with that large wrench. At least, it should be a ringing blow. His head turns to the side with the impact, and a trickle of energon is coming from the corner of his mouth when he slowly turns back towards Torque with a wicked gleam in his optics. A slow smile grows as the Decepticon medic looks back at her, "not bad...but my turn.." he says as he spreads his wings wide. He launches up into the air, but it seems he isn't going for the height advantage. Instead he fires into a flip, rolling over behind Torque as he brings his energy scythe to bear, putting her at staff length so as to get full impact. He spins a full three sixty when he lands, sweeping the huge scythe in at her legs, "amputation appears to be required!" he calls as he does. Combat: Airlift strikes Torque with his just a little off the bottom attack! -2 Blast Off watches as Torque makes it quite clear she's in a fighting mood, not an artsy one. Too bad, he much prefers the other. She swings a rather HUGE wrench towards them, but the agile Combaticon just uses his antigravs to quickly hover further up from the ground, avoiding the attack. He remains hovering, looking down as she gets closer. "Tsk, really Torque. Do you think you can hit ME?" He lifts up his ionic blaster. "However, you've made it clear you wish a fight. I will oblige." But Airlift strikes first- and hits! Well, then.... there's still someone else here needing to be sent packing- or worse. Someone who didn't STAY dead like he should have. Blast Off smirks just slightly under his faceplate and whips his weapon around to follow the Grumman X-29 now instead. THIS is more like it. "Well... you don't know when to stay dead. Did you learn nothing from our last encounter? You can't match my skills, fool. Give it up while you still can." The Combaticon, for now, is unaware of Wraith's presence on the field or he'd be a little less smug. Combat: Blast Off strikes Grumman X-29 with his Stay Dead this time (Laser) attack! -1 Combat: You took 13 damage. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Who is the new stranger on the field?" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Doesn't seem familiar, unfortunately. Looks Sweep-ish, though. ..I don't like him already." <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "I can tell what he's going to end up, and that's dead" <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Shall I handle the arrogant one?" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Be my guest. Blast Off's a bit too fast for me." <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "I kind of want to pay him back for last time, unless you've got a plan?" Dogfight flips and stands up into his robot mode <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "I am flexible. I could also see what this new fellow is made of. Literally." Dogfight is happy to see his shots hit home, but then Blast Off fires at him. Blast Off. All sense is removed from Dogfight as he descends to the ground, transforming into his shorter robot mode. "You know, I didn't think someone so 'Cultured' as yourself hung around with frackin' psychopaths, Blast Off. Want me to get Repugnus on the line so you three can go enjoy a nice evening at the Kaon Opera?" Dogfight asks, glaring at the Combaticon. Then, he stands where he can get a good line on both Decepticons, and fires his shoulder-mounted gattling gun at them, attempting to gun them both down or at least draw attention to himself. Combat: Dogfight sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Dogfight strikes Airlift with his Its like a shouldercheck from range! (Full-Auto) Area attack! Combat: Dogfight misses Blast Off with his Its like a shouldercheck from range! (Full-Auto) Area attack! <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Hmm...are you sure you do not wish me to assist?" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Heh, you should see Blast Off's face if he sees Wraith, Dogfight. It's priceless." <'Autobot'> Dogfight makes a conflicted snarl. "Alriight..." Torque grimaces, not pleased to have missed Blast Off. But at least she lands a solid hit on Airlift even though it doesn't appear to phase him much. Even after a blow like that he's in the air and spinning about in a fancy movement to get behind her. Torque pivots to face him, but ends up meeting his scythe head on. "Ngh!" A hard wince crosses her face when the scythe slashes a deep gash into one of her legs, forcing her to stoop and drop her weapon while backing off a few steps. "Tch, you think this is gonna stop me?" She growls, amber optics blazing. Luckily Dogfight gives her an opening when gunfire peppers the area, the medic instantly pushing the pain to the back of her mind and springing forward to get up close and personal with the reaver. Balled fists raise up and she sinks into a fighting stance like a pro, jaw clenching when she tenses and throws a left hook right to his face. Combat: Torque strikes Airlift with her Left Hook attack! -2 Wraith watches Blast Off taunting his allies. Oh, how smug that combaticon must be... He starts to make his way towards the hapless shuttle, cycling capacitors as quietly and cautiously as he can so as not to arouse alarm from the purple menace. A quick glance towards the other two on the field hints that the strange four-armed freak should be easily handled so long as the swift marksman is taken care of... This time, though, he's got to make the fear count. Time to open with a bang... "Tell me, Blast Off, have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" He laughs softly, a nice, deep, menacing tone as he drives those twin spikes on his arms home to get a little midnight snack, leaning in to whisper, "Now's your chance." Combat: Wraith appears from the shadows... Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Wraith strikes Blast Off with his Tango del Diablo attack! ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) These are definitely not the basic troops he'd been slicing through with such abandon before, but even so Airlift seems determined to slaughter them wholesale. Of course, they have other plans. He sees the shots incoming from Dogfight, but there's simply not enough time for him to do more about it than to throw his wings up in an attempt to guard, leaving his left wing peppered with armor damage from the spray of fire. More importantly, it gives him a blind spot which Torque immediately exploits quite effectively. He turns into the blow slightly, so that the shoulder guard takes the brunt of the damage, but it's enough of a hit that it rips the shoulder guard loose completely, his upper right shoulder throwing sparks now. "I've been looking for someone to really sink my claws into.." he says approvingly, though it does seem a bit strained. The concentrated firepower from the two first responders has at least started to shake some self preservation into him. He pushes towards Torque again with a growl, swiping with his scythe in a feint before he ducks in closer, two free hands closing down to sharp points, his claws thrusting towards Torque to try and tear her midsection open even as his plasma cannon starts to whine as it charges up. Combat: Airlift strikes Torque with his Four Claw Evisceration (Kick) attack! Blast Off watches aloofly as his shot hits (of course it does) and the Triggerbot lands and transforms. he dodges the next attack as well, still looking almost bored with all this. He's hard to hit, and he knows it. But Dogfight's comment gets a small huff and narrowed optics. For the Autobot hits a bit of a sore spot... the Combaticon *isn't* all that happy with some of the company he has to keep sometimes. So many uncultured riffraffs everywhere he goes, while HE is the *picture* of refinement and sophistication. He prides himself on being such an aristocratic mech, after all. "It's not like I can always pick and choose who I have to work with." He glares at Airlift. "If the medic goes on a rampage, then apparently *I* am the one stuck chasing after him. Even if he /IS/ acting like an idiot." He says that loudly enough for Airlift to hear him. *sigh* What fools, all of them. Then that voice that haunts his nightmares makes his energon suddenly run cold. Optics widen, and without even knowing where the attack is coming from, he instantly tries to just shoot straight up, even higher from the ground. Oh slag. Must get away quickly. But alas... it's already too late. Twin spikes plunge into the Combaticon, damaging him and draining energy as Wraith gets FAR too close and personal. Blast Off cries out in pain-as well as just a little fear- and is immediately struggling to free himself of this nightmare as quickly as he can. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!" Vents heave as he clutches and claws at the Autobot, trying to shove him away and get a shot at the nightmare. This is exactly what he doesn't want, isn't good at handling... and his usual smugness gives way to a desperate attempt at finding freedom. <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Ngh, this guy's fast." <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "... I want to save that moment. I want that moment framed" <'Autobot'> Wraith chuckles. <'Autobot'> Torque strained chuckle, "I told you it was worth it." Combat: Blast Off strikes Wraith with his Not a dancing fan and I swear I never saw that Batman movie- honest! lies (Punch) attack! ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Dogfight watches the carnage of his chaingun dissatisfied as Blast Off dodges, before staring for a second at Wraith's appearance, clearly impressed. However, he's learnt enough. This medic is on a rampage? Well, time for Dogfight to put him down. The Triggerbot runs at the larger transformer and attempts to jump and grab the Unicronian in a headlock. Combat: Dogfight strikes Airlift with his Pick on someone half your size! (Grab) attack! Wraith gets shoved back by Blast Off's frantic efforts to get free, wrenching his blades out in the process. There's a smug grin on his part as he brings the spikes up, licking them clean. "Oooh, you've been into the finer wines of late, haven't you." He continues to watch as the Cybertronian shuttle runs in fear, slowly pacing along as he cleans the blades before leveling one of the arm-mounted capacitors towards the fleeing Decepticon. "You know you've never been able to run from me! No sense starting now. Death will find you, and I shall savor every moment it takes to drain it from you one precious drop at a time." There's a faint flash of light that arcs from the skies, towards Blast Off, and then through Wraith to guide the subsequent bolt of electricity that follows, announcing itself with that wonderful sound of thunder. "Come now! I assure you that it will be as painless as I can manage it to be. You've the word of the Necrobot!" Combat: Wraith strikes Blast Off with his Thunderstruck attack! -3 <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "I got ya back Torque! Give him the ol' one-two!" <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Heh, you know it!" <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "I should say, for the record, that this is far too much fun." This mech really is an odd one, and it's a bit difficult to predict his movements given this is Torque's first time fighting him. The scythe slices through the air and the medic avoiding it a little too easily, leaving her open long enough for Airlift to step in and jab those pointy nails into her gut. "Ergk!" She freezes up in surprise and looks down, only to see several streams of violet trickling past his claws. "Mmf.. Got lucky on that one.." Torque hisses softly under her breath. She's about to retaliate until Dogfight moves in to join the fight, grappling Airlift and allowing Torque to pull herself free with a painful wrench off his claws. "Frag that hurt... Keep 'im still, Dogfight." A moment to hold a hand to her wound before she pushes through it and stalks fast towards Airlift, both fists raising. Yeah, this is gonna hurt. If Dogfight can hold him, the reaver will get a nasty jab to the gut with follow up cross to the face before the fists start flying in a series of quick one-two punches. Combat: Torque sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Torque strikes Airlift with her Fists of Fury attack! -1 ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "It also just occurred to me... Torque, I do not believe I've ever fought alongside you." <'Autobot'> Torque says, "You sure? Could've sworn we have.." <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Perhaps in Retoris...or Iacon." <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Hmm.. Well, if not, there's a first for everything!" "What the URGHHCH" is Airlift's exclamation as Dogfight jumps onto him. The small Autobot manages to get his arms around Airlift's neck..which of course doesn't choke him but does muffle whatever angry comments he's making. The next thing he knows, one hand manages to pull the hands out of his way and Torque has closed in.. Closed in far to close. The gut punch causes his servo's to seize momentarily, no doubt what was intended, and he rocks forward a bit right into the cross. The only advantage is that it frees him at least a tiny bit from that grip. He's staggering from those rapid punches, which just keep cracking and popping his armored chest, causing more damage as Torque lays into him. He can't do much bound up as he is though, and that fully charged plasma cannon points up right past his shoulder towards Dogfight. "GET OFF ME!" he yells out angrily before he pulls the trigger, trying to blast the smaller 'bot full on with his primary weapon, leaving himself open to further savaging from Torque as he does. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Airlift strikes Dogfight with his Plasma Cannon attack! Combat: You took 14 damage. <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "That was my FACE!" <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Shall I bite him?" <'Autobot'> Torque growls, "I'm gonna knock this guy's head off." Blast Off wrenches free, finally, and the Combaticon wastes no time gaining some of that precious distance he likes so much. For a moment, still startled and still hurting... he is tempted to just /keep/ running. Wraith seems to be able to surprise him as well as hit him better than most, and is seriously CREEPY about doing so, too ... a fact that Wraith then brings up. It slows him down, bringing him back to his senses. Blast Off glares back towards the Autobot, his optics blazing an angry purple now. He's a COMBATICON, slag it all. Combaticons most certainly do not tuck their "tails between their legs" and run. They DESTROY their enemies. Especially ones that..., WHAT did he say about wine? Drinking his energon? That's... that's definitely... it's... uncouth. Then he spies another attack coming and tries to dart out of the way again- but while he can usually avoid most attacks, once again he is unable to avoid Wraith's strikes. The lightning sears him, causing smoke to begin to billow out from the earlier stab wounds. He glances over at Dogfight... that guy likes fire way too much... then back to Wraith- he likes lightning- and sharp pointy things- way too much. Then Torque... well, she likes swinging giant wrenches around- but she's the only semi-civilized one of the bunch. Sometimes. He glares furiously back at Wraith, more unnerved than he'd like, swinging around now to face him and raise his weapon at the "Necrobot". "I don't know HOW you manage to keep hitting me. Fine, perhaps you're *slightly* better than most Autofools at *aiming*. But I am a Combaticon, and my skills beat yours any day." They MUST. "The only word I want to hear from you are your LAST WORDS... coming out of your mouth as you turn gray and lifeless for the final time!" And he fires. Combat: Blast Off strikes Wraith with his Famous last words attack! -1 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "I'm gonna heat this battle up a notch... You might wanna stand back" <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "Understood." <'Autobot'> Torque says, "Light 'im up!" Dogfight was trying his hardest to make life difficult as he clung to Airlift, providing Torque with an opening. But then, that gun turns and points right at the Triggerbot's face. Time almost seems to slow as he stares at the cannon, before he finally lets out a weak "Oh frag." Boom. The plasma burst hits well home, engulfing the Triggerbot's face in plasma. "GAH!". Dogfight falls to the ground in a rage, his twin blasters snapping into position. "FRAG YOU!" he roars, his scorched optics glowing menacingly as his Blowtorch Blasters burn into life, attempting to engulf the Unicronian in his own fire. Combat: Dogfight strikes Airlift with his Blowtorch Blasters attack! -2 Wraith is mindful to give Dogfight and his pyromancy a wide berth. His focus is, after all, the Combaticon. There's a soft hiss of vented heat as he takes the blast from the Decepticon sniper, going so far as to let the heated air vent from under the hood. "Is that the best you can do? I had higher expectations, to be quite honest." Wraith continues to watch the airborne combaticon as the fizzle and crackle of electricity starts to build around his frame. "Perhaps I should introduce you to how the big boys play." He offers a telling smirk as internal systems start to recalibrate. "I should be sporting, though, and give you a chance to run. Care to die tired?" Combat: Wraith sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Wraith analyzes Blast Off for weaknesses. Oh, he did NOT just attack another Autobot in front of Torque! The sight of Airlift blast Dogfight in the face has her positively bristling when instantly going into protection mode. As a medic it's her duty to make sure others remain safe and she'll be damned if she doesn't do so now. Whether Airlift is lucky or not that the Triggerbot reaches him first is unknown as it only buys him a few seconds before Torque comes charging in. With a roar she leaps through the remainder of the flames that linger, right arm groaning from the strain of building power when it pulls back. And like a spring it suddenly fires off, ratcheting upwards to uppercut his jaw in a display of true tow truck strength. Combat: Torque strikes Airlift with her Powerfist attack! ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Considering that his wings form the exterior of his ship mode, skinning the atmospheric re-entry capable spacecraft form, one might think that they were heavily heat shielded. Unfortunately, that appears not to be the case as Dogfight washes his back with that blast of fire. The two on one assault certainly has the unicronian reeling..and indeed, before he can do anything more there is Torque, following up with a massve uppercut that snaps his head back and launches him into the air in an ungraceful tumble. He goes right overtop of the triggerbot who had fallen behind him, landing beyond Dogfight and bouncing along the surface just a bit. As he rolls up onto his knees, his combat visor snaps down into place and there are at least a dozen systems malfunction warnings flashing on it.. "Blast Off, this assault has become untenable.." he declares as he launches up off the ground. It looks like he's going for Torque but he kicks up higher instead with his boot thrusters, transforming above her, "their position is weakened enough for the drones to continue advancing! I'm withdrawing.." Okay, yes, it's really a matter of the fact that he's leaking energon internally and soon going to be in serious danger of going into shutdown..but that's not something he'd ever admit to out loud. Combat: Airlift sets his defense level to Neutral. Airlift's wings fold as he transforms into Reavercraft mode, the second generation Unicronian spacecraft. Combat: Reavercraft begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Blast Off continues striking Wraith with his shots, which is well and good. What's NOT well and good is how easy the Autobot seems to find it to strike back, which the actually rather fragile shuttleformer can't take much of. Which is what makes Wraith such a deadly opponent for the Combaticon. His usual strengths don't seem to protect him when THIS foe is around. But Wraith's taunts are making him angry. Now, when Blast Off is angry- it's still not as obvious as when most other mechs are angry. But perhaps Wraith can tell anyway, in the way the Combaticon's optics glint at him, and he aims a weapon stiff-armed at the "Necrobot". He does glances briefly away to check on the errant Decepticon medic, who is... oh look, there's someone ELSE getting blasted by that slagging fire attack for once. Well, the medic was looking for a fight. He found.../Dog/fight. Go him. Blast Off returns to glaring at Wraith, and his pride begins to stamp out his fear to at least a more managable level. For there is little that can truly match Blast Off's ego. "BIG boys, hmmm? No, I have no plans to die today, Autofool. I've survived far worse things than some sort of.. of "Necrobot". Or whatever you *actually* are. But I WILL make you realize there are no worse things than a Combaticon when he means business. You want higher? You want bigger? Let me oblige, then." With that, the Combaticon transforms into his shuttle mode and flies up higher into the air. Suddenly, Airlift decides he's had enough- and flees! Leaving Blast Off here by himself. Oh *lovely*. Again. <> The Combaticon will need to retreat soon, but not without... one final "farewell". His pride would dictate nothing less. He opens the hatch under his nosecone and sends a bombardment straight for Wraith! With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Wraith with his Finishing Touch attack! -4 <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "Wraith, you reckon you can finish him or want me to give him a close shave?" ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) <'Autobot'> Wraith says, "He needs to fear me, and he rightfully shall." <'Autobot'> Dogfight says, "All yours then, big bot" Now that's how you punch! Torque smirks at the sight of Airlift literally sent flying through the air and his tumble through the rust sands following. Sadly it doesn't appear to have knocked him out for the count as he's already on his feet and taking to the sky, making her duck in reflex when he soars overhead and flees the battlefield. Once he's out of sight, Torque finally vents hard and takes a knee while holding the wound to her midsection. "Hn.. Drained for energon than I thought. ..You alright over there, Dogfight?" The femme inclines her head towards Dogfight, wondering how he's holding up. Wraith also gets a glance in the distance, though he seems to be taking care of Blast Off so far. Combat: Torque takes extra time to steady herself. Pass Wraith takes the blast from the shuttleformer as one might expect, which is to say...he's staggered, but that's what the heat sinks are for. The bombardment overloads various systems in the process of striking his location, but he makes every best effort to get back on his feet as soon as possible, preferably before the dust settles, so he can turn his attention to the Combaticon proper. "Again, disappointing." The air around him distorts as the electrical charge he'd been building is channeled outward, coalescing around him in a peculiar form of ball lighting that just looks to be straight out of Nikola Tesla's wildest dreams. "Now then, as I was saying." The charge is unleashed, rightfully overloading the built in cooling systems throughout his frame and 'cloak', which work hard to disperse the sudden influx of heat while the electricity is left to handle the rest. Combat: Wraith sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Wraith strikes Space Shuttle with his Aurora Ominae attack! Dogfight flips his two guns back into hiding as Airlift retreats, with a sigh from his intakes. "Fine enough..." he says, rotating an arm as he watches whatever it is Wraith is doing this time. Combat: Dogfight takes extra time to steady himself. Pass ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Space Shuttle strikes the Autobot, but Wraith gets back up and unleashes a massive attack of his own- which AGAIN hits the shuttle. He goes wobbling off to the side, frantically shifting wing elevons and adjusting the pull of his thrusters until he is no longer directly threatened with crashing right then and there. But the shuttle is badly damaged now, trailing smoke and sparks. Red warnings begin flashing all over his HUD. His engines rumble a loud huffff of anger and pain, and he badly wants to just keep fighting the Autobot. He CAN'T let him win like this. Not taunting him like this, humiliating him like this. But there are 3 Autobots and only one of him- a badly damaged him. Prideful or not, Blast Off isn't stupid, and he knows it's time to go. There's one last frustrating rumble of his engines. "One day, Wraith... one day... it will be YOU and ME. I will see you coming, there will be no cowardly sneak attacks, and then you will have nowhere to hide." He starts rocketing off, also throwing out, "And the same goes for YOU, Dogfight. Next time I *will* make sure you STAY grounded!" Then he races away, still trailing smoke behind him. Combat: Space Shuttle begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Reavercraft "You can slaggin' try it, afthead! Next time I'm taking your wings and slamming 'em through your cooking fusilage!" Dogfight yells back at the retreating Blast Off. The grin on the Triggerbot's face does fade though. "... Any survivors from Four-Arms assult?" he asks, looking around and to Torque. Did they get here in time to save any gumbies...? Wraith watches Blast Off run, optics glowing beneath his cowl. "You are more than welcome to try, Little Combaticon." He snorts and turns to survey the damage and aftermath of the fight, already quite certain that it will not end in the best of news for the efforts in the area. Or those caught in the trenches. Torque is a bit too winded to cheer over Blast Off's retreat, instead pushing herself to her feet and sighing softly. "I didn't see anyone left once the fight started, but it's possible. We should get searching and call in support to help sort things out here." Despite the grim reality around them she still smiles weakly at the both of them. "You two were great out there. Heh, sent those Cons packing. I just hope we don't run into that four-armed guy again soon." Wraith looks himself over and frowns at the damage he's done well to hide. "If I cross paths with him, he will learn to fear me just as much as Blast Off does. I will make certain that happens." He sighs and pulls the hood back, dropping into the trenches to start tending to the wounded from the Unicronian's initial onslaught. "I'll start recovery efforts." Dogfight scoffs. "Yeah, next time I meet him? If its in the air, he's a goner. I'll rip one of those slagging arms off him. The Triggerbot transforms into his (much larger) jet mode and blasts into the sky to scope the area out and look for any more survivors. Autobot Message: 3/153 Posted Author AAR: Rust Seas, Again Apr 19 2014 Dogfight ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *** AUTOBOT SPINNY *** Its Triggerbot Dogfight, doing this from his room and not a medbay for once. Face looks like he took a plasma blast to it, though. "Yesterday, me and Torque picked up a distress signal from a squad set up outside Nova Cronum. They reported a 'monster' had attacked, so we went out to try and deal with it." Dogfight sighs, leaning back. "Got there a bit too late for most of them, but the 'Monster' turned out to be that Unicronian rustbucket Sky Lynx found, Airlift, being tailed by that Combaticon afthead, Blast Off. Seems there's a bit of schism going on there, cause the shuttle seemed more annoyed than earlier having to tail around with tall n' freaky" Dogfight grins! "Battle went pretty well. Me an' Torque teamed up on the Unicronian and gave him a pounding, though he manage to get a blast off in my face, while Wraith showed up out of nowehere and made Blast Off do the funniest fraking expression I ever... Scuse me". The feed cuts as Dogfight breaks into laughter! When the feed resumes, Dogfight has controlled himself. "Sorry, remembering that kind of..." There's another snicker. "I'm sorry! Ahem. With the 'Cons forced into a retreat, we got the survivors back to the nearest camp" Dogfight's intakes make a sigh. "You see that Airlift guy? He's bad news. Don't bother with diplomacy, alright? Just disable him as soon as possible. Dogfight out". The Triggerbot finger-guns to the camera, though not as jovial. *** AUTOBOT SPINNY***